


"First Entertainers, then Heroes, whats next?"

by Supersonicfan7



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening, Genei Ibun Roku #FE | Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Genre: Gen, Interpreting Video Game Mechanics, No Beta, Self-Indulgent, Slice of Life, Song Lyrics, TMS#FE Terms, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22447960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Supersonicfan7/pseuds/Supersonicfan7
Summary: Being summoned to the strange world of Askr, Mirage Master Itsuki Aoi, and his friends from Fortuna have been added to the Order of Heroes, and now have a chance to learn and grow from the myriad of Heroes within the Order.Of course, confusion and explanations are gonna be inevitable when you're a high schooler, turned Mirage Master and part time Entertainer, put in a pseudo-medieval world filled with people who know your amnesiac Mirages by name.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 76





	1. Finding a Path with the Exalted Prince

Itsuki was starting to think his life couldn’t get any weirder. First was meeting and mastering a Mirage, then learning to fight opposing evil Mirages, then being coerced into joining Fortuna Entertainment in hopes of honing his talent as a Master, and tackling any Mirage related situations with his friends Tsubasa and Touma..  
But being… “Summoned” to the kingdom of Askr part way through a routine visit to the Bloom Palace , and recruited into the Order of Heroes was starting to wear Itsuki down with how much weirdness he could take. At least he wasn’t alone in this strange world. Chrom was still with him. And Tsubasa, Kiria, Eleanora (Or Ellie as she preferred), and Mamori and their own Mirages had all been summoned here as well. They each were slowly coming to grips of this bizarre world.

This strange land was called Zenith, and Askr, the kingdom the Order fought for, was stuck in a long standing feud with the neighboring nation of Embla and had crossed with other kingdoms as well.Particularly, the regions of Nifl and Muspell, as well as, if the story was to be believed, the realm of the dead, Hel. According the the explanation Itsuki had been given from the prince and princess of the kingdom, the fighting had stalled recently after emerging victorious against Hel.

As a newly minted member of the Order, for now he was given the simple task of training, befriending others, and eventually finding a spot to call his own within the Order’s massive horde of Heroes from myriad worlds. No small feat for a simple high schooler turned Mirage Master.  
Though Itsuki still had his own reservations about it all, he at been assured that when he and the others returned home, it would be as though no time had passed at all. So the team was free to take their time and improve both their battle abilities, and their skills as entertainers when they could.

For the moment, Itsuki had simply been roaming the halls of the Order trying to figure out how he should spend his time. Training was the easiest option, since the team of Masters had found their abilities had been dampened in this world. It wasn’t quite the Idolasphere they were used too, and yet it was definitely not the plain ordinary Tokyo. No phone service meant he and the others had to rely on finding each other in the Order’s halls rather than simply using Topic to text back and forth.

While Itsuki and the others could use magic within the Idolasphere, only Kiria seemed to retain the ability to cast and fling out spells. Perhaps because her Mirage, Tharja specialized in all kinds of magics. So they now had to rely and relearn fighting with their weapons in the Carnage Form. From what he could tell, Tsubasa seemed to take the change in stride, deciding to spend her spare time learning to fly and fight atop the robotic pegasus she and Caeda shared.

For now, Itsuki realized he was starting to get lost very quickly within the halls, just simply looking for the mess hall. He had only been here a few days, and things still weren’t distinct enough for him yet. He was about to ask Chrom if he had remembered where it was when he was approached by a certain blue haired man in armor. He wore a simple royal blue shirt, with mix matched blue and white pants. On his left shoulder sat a large silver shoulder guard, with his right being completely bare save for a strange teardrop style mark. The man vaguely reminding Itsuki of his Mirage, Chrom. Particularly the shade of blue hair, as well as the ornate sword he caried., that had a hole within the hilt.

“Oh excuse me” Itsuki started before he was sure if the man had been looking for him specifically, or just someone that looked something like him. While hair color varied a lot here, he couldn’t exactly be sure. Though in his own defense, Itsuki’s regular casual wear stood out much from all the armor and regalia most Heroes wore. “My name’s Itsuki. Itsuki Aoi.”  
“Ah, then it’s a pleasure to meet you Itsuki. I had heard the recent summoned Heroes stood out a little, so I wanted to try and catch you. I know many new to these halls tend to get lost quickly.” the man started. Meanwhile, next to him, he heard Chrom’s ghostly voice whisper, almost to himself, “This man…..”. Before he could ask Chrom what was bothering him, the stranger continued. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Chrom, leader of the Shepherds, and prince of Ylisse. I hope we can work together well.”“Oh. Nice to meet you Ch-... Wait. Your name is Chrom??”, Itsuki blurted out without even thinking. If this man was named Chrom…

“Ah, have you heard of me already? A lot of the Shepherds like to spread many a word about me. I can put any assumptions to rest. I may be the prince and leader of the Shepherds, but here in the Order, I am just a simple swordsmen.” The man calling himself Chrom started. Itsuki was being thrown for a loop. The Mirages he had met, even the Chrom he knew, had no memories of their past. He had no idea if it was possible for multiple versions of people to exist in this world, but before he could clarify anything, Chrom the Mirage decided to intervene

He quickly shimmered into view next to Itsuki, his appearance and presence as a Mirage was somewhat imposing to those who didn’t know him well. “If you’re Chrom...” Mirage-Chrom started, and just as quickly, Prince Chrom gave a start, “Whoa! Excuse me, but who are you?!” The two of them seemed off put by one another. Mirage-Chrom especially. Itsuki could feel how tense he was, being Chrom’s Mirage Master. Before he could start, Mirage-Chrom continued, “I’m sorry for the sudden appearance. My name is also Chrom, but I am partnered to Itsuki, though we come from separate worlds.”

These words didn’t seem to set Prince Chrom at ease, and probably only created more confusion for him. “I… I see. These things can happen. Heroes that are summoned to Askr can come from myriad worlds. Even alternate futures. Multiple versions of the same people isn’t too uncommon. But your appearance…” As he said that, Itsuki realized that was what seemed to set Prince Chrom at on edge the most.  
Mirage-Chrom seemed to notice it as well. He continued, “ Ah, it’s probably best to start at the beginning then. Although my name is Chrom, and I know I am a Lord, my memories escape me. The life I have lived till I met Itsuki is but a blank page. As for my appearance, Itsuki?” Mirage-Chrom gestured toward him, prodding him to continue for him.

“Right”, Itsuki started. “Although the world I come from is pretty ordinary and plain, lately we’ve had beings from another world start appearing in ours. They’re somewhat like ghosts, but we call them Mirages. Every Mirage we’ve met has no memory of their past. But some are able to partner with us, and give us the strength to fight. I’m partnered to Chrom, his Mirage Master, sorta.” The explanation was much like the one he had given Mamori, when she became Draug’s Master. “Because we’re tied to each other, Chrom was summoned with me from my world, and it’s with his help that I can fight. Does that help?”

Prince Chrom seemed to take this in slowly. It must have been a strange tale to hear of, despite his own status. From what Itsuki could tell, almost everyone in the Order seemed to come from a pseudo-medieval world. Because of that, there was a lot of explaining that needed to be done when the team had introduced themselves to the Order’s leaders. Especially for how they fought, and how they didn’t need to worry about certain things like keeping their armor and weapons in good shape.  
Prince Chrom started, “I see. This is a rather interesting tale. We should probably take this to the mess hall. It should be much easier than standing in this hall.” As he said that, Itsuki remembered his original plan to find the mess hall. “Alright, if you could lead the way Chrom, that would be great,” Itsuki replied.  
He had a feeling today was only going to get more and more strange.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prince Chrom led Itsuki through to the mess hall, where most of the crowd of Heroes eating a regular lunch was dying down. Some Heroes eyed the trio warily, specifically Mirage-Chrom. Itsuki could understand it well. Back when he had first met Chrom, the Mirage wore a deep red hood on top of all the armor, making him look all the more imposing and threatening. Even as he was now, his ghostly eyes, messy blue hair, tattered white cape, and high collar belted over his lower face, wouldn’t be out of place in the Masqeraider shows Touma was so into.

Off to the side, he could see 2 people glancing over and waving to them, gesturing to come sit with them soon. One was a man with messy white hair, dressed in what appeared to be some red christmas themed overcoat with a large red and white hood, alongside white undershirt and pants. The woman next to him had long blue hair, the same shade as Prince Chrom’s with a gold tiara on top. Her outfit seemed to be very form fitting and stuck to the blue color scheme. Strapped to her was a certain sword that looked like it was identical to the one Prince Chrom had strapped to him.

Prince Chrom quickly noticed the pair. “Ah, I’ll introduce you to them. Why don’t we grab a meal and talk.” Itsuki nodded, though he knew there would have to be more introductions. Mirage Chrom decided to go ahead and walked over to the table that the pair were sitting at. His presence seemed startled the of them. Itsuki meanwhile decided to follow Prince Chrom over to grab a wooden tray for food.

Once he and Chrom sat down with the Mirage and the new pair, they quickly introduced themselves. The christmas themed man started, “My name is Robin. I’m Chrom’s tactician for the Shepherds. Forgive the festive outfit. I was summoned midway through a Christmas party, Due to the nature of multiple versions of people, I’m kinda stuck in it to distinguish myself.” That somewhat explained it. Tho Itsuki was sure it must have been a pain fighting in. Especially if the weather turned particularly hot. Though… A tactician? Itsuki was starting to get a little confused. If Chrom was a Prince, but also the leader of the Shepherds, how did that work? Before he could think about it any more, the woman across from Robin introduced herself.

The woman started, “My name is Lucina. This may get a little confusing, but I’m Chrom’s daughter. I hail from the future, a world that reached its end. And I traveled to the past to avert that dark future.” That was… Interesting. It explained her similarities to Prince Chrom, as well as the blade she carried. To Itsuki though, it seemed to raise more questions than answers.

Mirage-Chrom seemed to be in a similar state. He was mulling over their introductions when Prince Chrom decided to introduce Itsuki and his partner to his daughter and tactician. “This is will sound more than a little strange, considering the things we’ve been through. But this is Itsuki,” He gestured to Itsuki, and then moved to his Mirage counterpart, “And this is a version of myself from Itsuki’s world. Sort of. They work together to fight as one,”  
Robin and Lucina seemed intrigued, especially with Mirage Chrom. But before they could raise any of their own questions, Mirage-Chrom felt the need to put in, “While I know my name is Chrom, my memories have been lost to me ever since I became Itsuki’s Mirage. I’m sorry that I do not recognize the two of you.” That alone seemed to dampen Robin and Lucina’s enthusiasm for questions

“I… I see.” Lucina began reluctantly, “Should we try to help you? Recover your memories I mean. It would seem cruel to not try when we and others know you very well.” Prince Chrom seemed to agree with that sentiment. Robin meanwhile, “I see where you’re coming from Lucina, but maybe we should give it some time. I’m sure trying to regain your memories has prompted some trouble before, right Chrom?” He gestured to Mirage-Chrom. He slowly nodded his head.  
“Yes,” he began, “I am not the only one. Itsuki and his friends each became Masters of us Mirages. That’s what we are known as in Itsuki’s world. Our power is otherworldly to them, but with our memories lost to us, we are unable to explain how or why we wield the power that we do. All I know is that deep inside me, I am Chrom, that I am a Lord, and that my abilities and are sustained by Itsuki’s strength.”

Itsuki decided it would be best to explain their connection here and now, as well as the power that he and the others cultivated to become stronger. “In my world,” Itsuki hesitantly started, “Conflict is pretty rare, but lately we’ve found evil spirits we call Mirages that attack others and steal a power from them called Performa.” Explaining Performa was tricky, and even as someone who wasn’t very creative, Itsuki had a hard time explaining it. “It’s sort of like, creative energy, drive, or motivation. But Mirages are sustained, and can gain power from it. Chrom and I forged our bond during a Mirage attack on a friend of mine. And since then, he’s given the ability to fight, and protect my friends.”

Robin slowly took this information in, while Lucina and Prince Chrom looked a little confused. Itsuki supposed he could understand how strange it all must have seemed. He guessed that if he were ever struck with meeting a version of Tsubasa or Touma, who didn’t know him at all, and looked completely different, he would feel put off by their presence.

Robin at least decided to try and break the ice that was forming between the group. “It’s alright. We can hardly hold it against either of you over all this. I am intrigued to learn how you two fight together though. Any chance you could join us for training later?” That seemed to lift everyone’s spirits some. And Itsuki could see the chance as a good opportunity to learn how to fight against more normal sized opponents, rather than the large forms Mirages tended to take.

“Alright, I could use the practice.” Itsuki quickly agreed. Mirage Chrom nodded alongside him. “I need to learn how to better fight one on one more regardless.” That brought a smile to Prince Chrom’s face. “That settles it then. After the meal we’ll get you situated with some training armor and such.” Lucina continued with him, “What kind of weapon do you wield Itsuki? I’m sure my fath-...Chrom uses the sword he has.” Lucina seemed a little off put, calling someone she knew Chrom rather than the father she was used too. Itsuki could again, easily see why. He replied, “Actually, it's a bit hard to explain, but I use a sword to fight. And I don’t need to worry about armor. It’ll be easier to show you then explaining it.”

Lucina seemed especially curious about the lack of a need for armor, “I see,” she replied, “Well then let us get back to this meal then, training awaits us.” And she resumed the meal that had been left sitting in between all the introductions. Robin as well continued his, adding “This will be an interesting learning experience. If you need me to give you any tips as we train Itsuki, I’ll be there to help. I’m used to giving pointers and finding ways to improve.”  
Itsuki was thankful for that then. While he was good at giving the others at Fortuna ideas and ways to improve in ways that weren’t obvious, he had a harder time with himself. So for now, he decided to begin the meal alongside Prince Chrom. Meanwhile, Mirage-Chrom looked pensieve, crossing his arms and looking thoughtful about the coming prospect of training.

\--------------------------------------------------------

The walk to the training yards was filled with interesting sights along the way. He had heard that the number of Heroes in the Order was at least in the few hundreds, and he could believe it. He saw many sparring with simple swords, lances, and axes. But also just as many flinging spells, throwing what seemed to be knives or shurikens, and one he saw transform from a man into a kitsune like creature.

As he followed Prince Chrom and the others, he noticed a shadow pass over the group. Looking up, noticed a group of riders on pegasi. They seemed to be doing basic drills. Off to the side of the group, he noticed Tsubasa and Caeda together on their robotic pegasus. It stood out a lot compared to most of the plain white breeds. Particularly the large pink, feather-like wings thiers had. The only other one that stood out was a strange dark blue pegasus that had a woman with long silver hair as its rider.

Itsuki stopped to watch them go about their basic drills. Tsubasa in particular was trying hard to keep up with the others. Instead of wielding Caeda’s Carnage Form, she seemed to have a basic training lance with her, with Caeda herself behind her keeping Tsubasa stable. Itsuki decided to give Tsubasa a bit of a push. He yelled out to them, “Good luck Tsubasa! You got this!” She seemed to immediately notice Itsuki and the group he was with. He waved at her. She seemed quite startled, and probably would have tumbled off her pegasus if it didn’t have handlebars on it. Caeda waved to Itsuki’s group, while Tsubasa seemed to be trying to bow at them. Prince Chrom and Robin regarded the strange pegasus, as well as the duo of Tsubasa and Caeda, but continued walking. Itsuki decided he’d best get going too.

Eventually they reached a rather quiet yard, who had 2 people already waiting for them. The first was a brown haired man in large blue and silver bulky armor, somewhat like the kind that Mamori wore when fighting. Only underneath it, he appeared to be wearing some sort of formal dress shirt. He stood at attention with his eyes closed, as if waiting for someone, probably their group. The other was a woman with bright pink hair, put in a simple ponytail. dressed in what Itsuki thought, looked like an exotic dancer attire. It hugged her lithe figure well, and had a large pink sash attached to her wrists that flowed around her. She was resting on a crate, and seemed to be trying her best to catch her breath.

“Why did… you have… to be so aggressive today Frederick?” She questioned the man called Frederick. He stayed at attention, barely reacting to the woman’s question. “Because Olivia, you still need practice at dealing with unrelenting opponents. While I understand you prefer to stick to the back lines, you must be ready for the possibility that you may find yourself cornered.” He replied quickly and smoothly, as if it should be obvious. The woman named Olivia was about to reply when she noticed Itsuki and their small group. “Oh! There you all are. We were waiting to get started.” The woman then noticed Itsuki as the newcomer of them, and for some reason started blushing “Oh, n-nice to meet you. You are?”

Itsuki decided to refrain from asking about her sudden change in attitude, and quickly introduced himself, “I’m Itsuki Aoi.It’s nice to meet you too. I was summoned fairly recently along with my friends from Fortuna” He realized he hadn’t actually explained Fortuna or his involvement with them to Prince Chrom and the others yet, so he decided it’d be best to do it now. “Fortuna is a production and entertainment company. We mostly work in songs, dancing, acting and such.”  
Chrom and Olivia seemed particularly surprised. “You work in dancing? What a coincidence, I’m something of a dancer myself! Oh, my name’s Olivia!” Her spirits seemed somewhat uplifted by Itsuki’s introduction. Meanwhile the man, Frederick, eyed Itsuki warily, but introduce himself nonetheless, “I am Frederick, a royal knight in service to Lord Chrom. Am I to assume you will be joining us for training today?”

Prince Chrom quickly replied, “That’s right, I caught Ituski before lunch. It’s important to make introductions and make new Heroes feel welcome Frederick.” It seemed that this might have happened before with other Heroes. All of a sudden Itsuki felt a little like an intruder on this group of comrades. Before he could say anything, Mirage-Chrom shimmered into existence to introduce himself. “Apologies for the surprise, but am Itsuki’s partner. This may seem confusing, but my name is also Chrom. Though I’m afraid ever since meeting Itsuki, my memories have been but a blank page to me.”

This seemed to surprise Frederick, who quickly kneeled to Mirage-Chrom, “Forgive me, even if you are not the same person as my own Lord Chrom, allow me to pledge my loyalty to you.” This surprised both Itsuki and Mirage-Chrom a lot. Frederick seemed like a very capable knight, just from appearance. But pledging his loyalty to another version of his Lord? Prince Chrom quickly told Frederick to stand up, claiming “Don’t worry about any of that Frederick. This Chrom may not have his memories, but he has his own obligations, to Itsuki especially. You don’t need to start worrying about him alongside me and Lissa.” Lissa? Itsuki assumed they must have been someone important to Prince Chrom and Frederick.

Frederick seemed a bit flabbergasted at Prince Chrom’s suggestion. Meanwhile Robin decided to also put in, “Don’t worry about it Freddie, you already got enough on your plate. And from what I can tell, the Chrom that Itsuki knows doesn’t exactly need looking after. Right?’ He glanced over at Mirage-Chrom, who seemed in agreement. He replied, “It’s alright. My form as a Mirage means I don’t need to worry about eating or sleeping. Itsuki enough keeps me fine, and in a way, I perceive and exist in this world because of him. If anything, pledge your work to Itsuki. He may not realize it yet, but Itsuki has the potential to make a great Lord.”

That surprised Itsuki a lot. While he was usually keen on letting the others at Fortuna take the spotlight, he usually took the lead in fighting and organizing the team. Comparing leading the 7 Masters at Fortuna, seemed like a big comparison so a Prince who probably could lead an entire army off his own charisma and leadership ability. He decided to let Mirage-Chrom’s comment slide, and try to get down to business. It was about time he and Chrom get practicing. “Anyway, is it alright if we start?”  
Lucina quickly agreed, and they set about getting geared up with basic training armor and weapons. Itsuki decided now would be a good time to show them all what they could do together, and prompted Mirage-Chrom, “You ready?”, and Mirage-Chrom quickly agreed. While Olivia and Frederick looked as though they wanted to ask about his fighting situation, he decided it’d be best to just show them.

Mirage-Chrom began to shimmer in a white light, as his features faded away into a translucent form. Itsuki quickly reached out his hand towards Chrom, and yelled “Come Chrom! Carnage… Form!” In a quick flash, Itsuki’s entire outfit changed.  
Gone was the simple button up shirt, pants, and tennis shoes. In its place was a fancy outfit that managed to outdo Frederick’s well kept attire. Itsuki was clothed in simple blue pants and shoes, an elaborate ensemble of blue, red and gold, on top of a simple breast plate, with a cravat and epaulettes fitting out around his shoulders. On his left hand was a large metal gauntlet and glove, whereas on his right was a much simpler red gauntlet, and basic glove. Itsuki’s hair and face changed as well. His hair changed from a short black, to a longer and messier deep blue, with lighter blue highlights in portions of his hair. On his face, 2 marks appeared on the edges of his cheeks. Quickly, a flowing red and white cape strapped itself to Itsuki’s back.

The shimmering essence that Chrom had become, reformed into a simple short sword, almost like a rapier, with gold metal swirling around near the handle to form a hilt. Itsuki quickly grabbed the sword he knew as the Falchion, and stood in a basic stance with his arms at his sides. Itsuki looked towards the others, and Robin and Olivia seemed awed by the whole sequence. Lucina and Prince Chrom both looked very excited at the coming training session. While Frederick looked even more pensieve, with his brow furrowing down probably as much as he could.  
Itsuki decided to start off confident and proclaimed, “Alright who’s first?” He quietly wondered to himself if he would regret this later.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seconds of small practice duels turned into minutes, and eventually into a couple hours as he sparred with Chrom, Lucina, Robin, and Frederick each. Olivia elected to sit it out as she wanted to completely absorb Itsuki’s style of fighting. Within those spars, Itsuki quickly realized he still had a lot to learn.  
While he knew the basic strengths and weaknesses his sword had against opponents who wielded a lance, like Robin chose too, versus the long greataxe that Frederick wielded. That much shined through against the two of them. But it was clear he was used to opponents who were much larger, and took wider strikes. Much like the Mirages from the Idolasphere. Itsuki quickly found himself giving himself too much space when dodging or trying to block strikes against either of them. Robin proved to be quite nimble in that christmas getup, and would usually quickly exploit any opening Itsuki left. Frederick was more methodical, noting to Itsuki when and where he made a misjudgement in footing and spacing, rather than punish him for it.

Against Chrom and Lucina was an entirely different story. His only real practice against another swordsmen his size was the 2 times he had crossed swords with Yashiro. Lucina was a lot like Yashiro, relying on speed with quick, precise strikes. While the strikes themselves didn’t hit as hard as he expected, it quickly wore him down at trying to keep up with her. Against Prince Chrom he fared somewhat better, but still found himself at his wits end keeping up with Chrom’s powerful strikes and slashes.

Before he even really realized it, they were all taking a break and discussing the session with one another. Itsuki decided to grab a canteen of water and take a moment to rest, spending the moment watching other spaces where more Heroes were still training. Off to the side he noticed someone familiar.

It looked like Ellie, in her own Carnage Form outfit, practicing her aim on simple targets. Though being Ellie, she must have decided simple shots were too easy, and was busy putting flips, twirls, and whatnot into her movements. Most likely trying to emulate the Hollywood style she strived for. Near her, he spied a girl with bushy ginger hair with a purple bow on top, in a simple pink dress rooting her on, as well as her Mirage, Virion, giving her tips

Before he could yell out to her, Robin called his attention. “What do you think Itsuki?” he asked. Itsuki quickly noticed their group seemed interested in him, as they were all looking at him. “Sorry,” he replied, “I thought I saw a friend over there. What were we talking about?” Robin didn’t seem to mind, quickly restarting. “I was saying you seem a little out of your element. Like you’re not used to fighting people.”

Itsuki understood immediately and agreed. “Yeah,” he replied, “In the Idolasphere where my friends and I fight, enemy Mirages often are large and monstrous in form. While I usually take the lead in fights, we usually fight defensively until one of us creates an opening by exploiting what enemies may be weak too. Normally, all of us are able to use elemental magic alongside our weapons, but we’re a little limited in this world.”

Robin seemed to understand well. “I get that, your options in combat are now limited. So you gotta make the most of what you got then. I do notice your fluid movement though. That could really come in handy.” Olivia agreed, quickly adding, “Yeah! Your steps, and the way you strike. It’s very graceful. I could really feel that watching you all spar.” Chrom meanwhile seemed overall impressed with Itsuki. “You surprised me Itsuki. I’d like to spar with you more. I feel like we could really learn a lot from each other’s fighting style.” Itsuki agreed, but felt like it’d be strange to think of it on the whole. Training with Chrom, against Chrom seemed like it would get very weird fast. Especially if the two of them ended up giving the same advice. But he agreed with Prince Chrom regardless.

At that moment he released the Mirage Falchion (Apparently, the sword Chrom and Lucina wielded was also called Falchion), and Mirage-Chrom appeared in its place. He looked very contemplative, probably thinking about ways he and Itsuki could improve. Over the course of sparring, he had chipped in with ideas to try against the others. After the surprise of Mirage-Chrom becoming his weapon had faded off, they had found it a good motivator to try their hardest. He didn’t exactly understand it, but thought that it might be something akin to fighting 2 people at once to them.

Prince Chrom seemed satisfied with it all. “It’s probably best we call it there for today. It was fun training with you Itsuki. I hope you can join us again.” Now that he noticed it, the sun seemed to be setting. Had it really been that long training? Itsuki felt exhausted, but also glad that he got good practice in. He smiled at Prince Chrom and the others, “Thanks. It was a pleasure. I’m glad you guys gave me a good chance to learn and grow.” And he meant it.  
When he first arrived in Askr, he had a feeling he’d be sticking to the girls from Fortuna and continuing to support them. But he was pleasantly surprised at meeting new and strange people to learn from. Perhaps he could eventually find his path, and not feel like he was aimless in his entertainment pursuits that Ms. Maiko put him through. He genuinely hoped that today was the start of a great friendship, with a new Chrom to get to know.

He decided to get started and try to round up the others from Fortuna. He waved to Chrom and the others as he walked off. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!' he yelled out. Itsuki now had a lot more to look forward to around the Order's halls.


	2. The Madcap Idol practices with the Vallite Songstress

Tsubasa was starting to think being summoned to Askr was both a blessing and a curse upon her. On the one hand, the chance to meet new people, and learn new ways to grow and get stronger. On the other, her career and future performances she was already preparing for had to be put on hold for however long the team would be staying in Askr. The topic hadn’t been brought up among the five Mirage Masters, but it was something that nagged at Tsubasa’s thoughts whenever she had free time.

It was one thing for her usual nerves about performing and singing to be getting to her. This was another thing else. Tsubasa had been preparing like crazy to get ready for her big concert debut. The two big events she had was first her duo concert for “Give Me!” that she would be sharing with Kiria, which both excited her and scared her to no end. The second was her debut solo concert with the new song Chouten Sawafuji had wrote for her, “Fly: You’re My Wind”

Tsubasa had gotten used to singing and dancing throughout her time in Fortuna, especially after grinding through Barry’s rigorous training sessions. And she had gotten very used to being around her own personal inspiration, Kiria, throughout being a Mirage Master. But these upcoming events were something she wasn’t sure she’d be able to focus on on top of all the craziness of becoming a Hero of the Order.

Caeda tried her best to help out, offering to help train Tsubasa in flight combat on top of their Pegasus. It was definitely something she was grateful to get the chance to learn about. She had only really ridden on it before to chase down that Mirage, Aversa, after she had been forcibly separated from Tsubasa’s sister, Ayaha. The only thing that was beginning to wear her down somewhat was the daily training drills she ended up partaking in. Caeda had put in their suggestion to the squadron that taught and practiced in flying combat, and before she knew it she was out in the training yards almost daily doing drills with the other pegasus knights and such.

One thing she quickly realized was that most traditional pegasus knights were women, since apparently most pegasi would only allow themselves to be ridden by gentle women. Of the knights she trained with, her instructor was a stern red haired woman, in white and red armor named Cordelia. She ran Tsubasa through the basic ropes of flying, despite the strange differences having a mechanical pegasus brought to the lessons. Caeda usually sat behind her, holding Tsubasa steady and giving her tips.

Among the other knights training were a pair of sisters, each with different colored hair, that called themselves the “Whitewings”. They were apparently quite used to prepping newbies on flying in the Order, and helped around where they could. The oldest sister, Palla, especially acted a lot like Ayaha and checked in on Tsubasa regularly to make sure she was keeping up, or that she wasn’t left out when the group took regular breaks for their steeds.

Of the knights, the two Tsubasa had befriended were a perky, energetic teenage knight with silver hair named Cynthia, and a kind, young mage flier with green hair named Nino. The two were very entranced with Tsubasa and Caeda’s pegasus, as well as Tsubasa’s Carnage Form for flying. Its bright colors, and semi-revealing nature, stood out compared to the usual plain white armor most of the knights stuck too.

Slowly but surely, Tsubasa was coming to terms with flight combat. Once she switched to training with the Mirage Feather-lance that Caeda traditionally transformed into, she noticed her speed and ability dramatically improve. She liked to believe it may have been Caeda’s way of supporting her, even if Tsubasa was the one doing the fighting. Before Tsubasa even realized it though, everyone was packing it in for the day. She decided to dismount, release Caeda and let the Carnage Form appearance fade away, and let their pegasus return to… wherever it disappeared to when Tsubasa and Caeda didn’t need it. She never really thought about it much. Mirage related magic and how it worked never failed to confuse her, so Tsubasa never really questioned it.

She decided to head back to the mess hall, and hopefully catch the rest of the Fortuna team for dinner together. They’d made it a somewhat consistent thing in their schedules, despite all the different things the others had been working on, or training with. From what she could tell, Itsuki had made some new friends out of the other version of his Mirage, Chrom, and spent lots of time training with him and the others he worked with.

While she made her way through the halls, there was someone of note who caught her attention. It was a woman with incredibly long turquoise hair, in a simple white dress, with a peacock feather-like ornament on her head. The one thing Tsubasa noticed most was that she was completely barefoot and seemed to be humming to herself. Before Tsubasa decided to approach her, she noticed a while haired woman, wearing what appeared to be a swimsuit of all things, walk up to the blue haired woman. Not wanting to interrupt, Tsubasa decided to slow her walk to the mess hall.

“Hey Azura!” The white haired woman greeted, “Thought I’d catch you before you disappear off to the concert hall.” Concert Hall? Tsubasa had no idea the Order had anything like that. Maybe she could finally find a good place to practice her song and get some of the steps she needed to memorize in…

“Hello Corrin.” The woman named Azure replied. “You know me, I’ll probably be there for a while after dinner. Do you have anything planned for tonight?” She asked back at the woman, Corrin, Tsubasa told herself. She really needed to start getting names straight. But she’d heard enough, and didn’t feel like butting in on a conversation between what looked like close friends. So she continued her trek to the mess hall.

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Dinner passed without much of note, despite the busy nature of the Order, and all the eccentric Heroes that its halls. Even with the addition of the Mirage Masters, no one seemed to pay them and their appearance much mind. Perhaps because people were used to the strange nature of this world, and the possibilities it held. From children that could turn into full sized dragons, to Heroes who fought in unusual festival themed wear, the Order didn’t lack for the weird and strange. The only thing of note during dinner was that Mamori seemed to be in high spirits, apparently because she’d managed to best a supposed picnic-themed maid named Felicia in axe training.

Mamori had always surprised Tsubasa, both because of how mature she was for her age, but also because of how well she fought despite it. Of the Heroes that fought in large heavy armor, Mamori was very much the runt of the litter, being the youngest, and smallest of the teams she trained with. Despite that, Mamori always seemed to keep up without fail. It really impressed Tsubasa.

As dinner was winding down, she decided to let out the thought that had been burning since she passed by the pair of Corrin and Azura. Tsubasa thought it’d be best to ask the team, since they were usually the ones who would take a lot of notice if the Order had a concert hall of some kind to train in. If there was one, maybe she could try to get some decent practice on her songs, without disturbing anyone. The girls of Fortuna normally shared a room together, but with the 4 of them being performers, it was hard to find good alone time to practice when all 4 of them had their own obligations throughout the day, and especially late in the evening when they all would be winding down from training.

“Hey guys,” Tsubasa reluctantly started, “Along my way here, I heard something interesting. Apparently the Order has their own Concert Hall?” Itsuki and Mamori looked surprised, while Ellie looked pensieve. Ultimately, Kiria was the one that responded the fastest. “Yeah, I checked it out myself. It surprised me. It’s a lot like the old fashioned concert hall in Tokyo that Ayaha and Yashiro’s father performed at.” Really? That opera house was something Tsubasa hadn’t thought about in a long while. Especially not since Ayaha had been saved.

The Mass Disappearance Incident was something Tsubasa still had trouble remembering, even 5 years later. It all happened at an ordinary opera, and the most she could remember was that one moment she was watching Ayaha sing her heart out, and the next, she was gone. Along with the crowd that had filled the massive concert hall. She had gotten scared, and left the hall with the distinct feeling she was being chased by something. Only long after the incident, when she had become a Mirage Master, did she learn that she had been monitored by Ms Maiko over the years because she was the only at the time known to come back from it all.

She shook herself out of those bad thoughts. The cause of the incident may not have been found yet, but Tsubasa had saved Ayaha. It may have seemed selfish, but she would take the small victory, and hopefully work with the others on figuring out the rest once they went home. She tuned back into what Kiria was saying.

“- I heard it from some other Heroes when I asked about the various duties the Order performs,” Kiria continued, “Apparently, there’s this Aether Keep that some Heroes manage, and where it lands, is a small town they call the Aether Resort. It’s got a lotta stuff like armor vendors, hot springs, and that concert hall. The Keep itself is restricted to the Heroes who manage it. I heard they’re split between a raiding team, and a defensive team.”

Tsubasa took in the rest of the explanation. It all sounded strange, especially when taking into account all the other things that Heroes fought and took part in across the Order. According to Kiria, the concert was open to any Hero. Though no actual performances had happened yet since the Hall’s construction, despite the large number of singers and dancers in the Order.

While the team finished their dinner, Tsubasa was contemplating her chances of getting to practice in the Concert Hall. The best time to do it on her own would definitely be late in the evening, when most Heroes would be tucking in for the night, or standing watch on guard duty. With a firm resolve, Tsubasa promised herself she’d try her luck the next day.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After getting the location of the Aether Resort from Kiria, who after hearing Tsubasa’s idea and reasoning, seemed quite proud of Tsubasa, and wished her good luck. (She’d have to keep a lid on her excitement that the thought brought) Kiria told her she’d probably join her at some point later. They’d definitely need practice together eventually to get their timing and steps for “Give Me” down at some point.

With equal parts excitement and nervousness fluttering in Tsubasa, she entered the concert hall. The Aether Resort had been quiet and lonely, during this time of evening. The hall itself, while much smaller than the one she’d been to for Ayaha’s Opera, was no less grand. The large white columns, and ornate red and gold banners strung along the high walls gave off a grand feeling. The stage itself was quiet, with some lanterns strewn across it to give it some proper lighting.

Moving to the middle of the stage, Tsubasa decided to lead with her lyrics she needed. She brought out her phone, and quickly pulled a picture that had the associated lyrics and tune for “Give Me. She scrolled past Kiria’s lyrics, down to her part. She took some deep breaths, trying to push away her nervousness, started off a beat in her head, and let out her voice.

“We’re all Carbon Copies~  
I’m a copy, too~  
But when I look at you I see~  
Something new, Something different~

Give Me!~  
Give Me! All your coolness~  
Give Me!~  
I wanna stand out, I wanna Shine~”

No…. It isn’t quite the same, Tsubasa thought to herself. It was usually one thing to be practicing her timing and lines on her own, but to time herself up to Kiria probably should have been the first thing she worked on. In its own way, it was like the Sessions that the team of Mirage Masters had grown accustomed to using in battles. Syncing your timing up with the others, to lead from one attack, to another, until to any normal person watching, it became a show all on its own.

Tsubasa would be the first to admit she’d always had trouble keeping up with that part. She had found that she’d always been good at timing up with Itsuki and Touma. She knew their style well, having been friends for years. But growing accustomed to Kiria, Ellie, Mamori, and the recently added Yashiro was creating something Tsubasa had a hard time keeping up with.

When it came to singing, Tsubasa had grown accustomed to doing it all on her own. But going forward, she’d definitely need to work out her synchronizing with the others. She wondered to herself if the others had noticed that part of Tsubasa’s style, and had their own thoughts about it. Regardless, she decided it’d be best to keep at her lines for a little while before she should even think of a break.

Before Tsubasa could even start back up, she heard light footsteps. It was much different than the usual armored boots and the like. Those who wore them tended to give themselves away, especially on a hardwood floor such as the stage. Off to the far side of the stage, nearby where Tsubasa had come through, stood the turquoise haired woman from the day before, Azura if she remembered correctly.

Azure lightly walked onto the stage, taking in Tsubasa and her impending embarrassment at being found doing practice where her chances of being interupted were slim. Tsubasa herself quickly found her face warming up. She was never good at dealing with this feeling. Getting the courage to get up on the stage, and become an idol like her sister had done a lot for Tsubasa’s own self-image, but still sometimes brought brief spouts of deep red to her face. Particularly with some of the outfits she wore for ads or otherwise.

Azura decided to take the first step and introduced herself, “Sorry if I startled you. Few rarely use this hall for practicing. My name’s Azura. I’m something of a songstress, and your song had my curiosity peaked.” She seemed very reserved, but was probably planning to use the hall for her own practicing. Tsubasa shook herself out of her embarrassment and quickly replied, “O-oh it’s nothing. I was just hoping to work on this song I need to learn. Sorry, you can use the stage if you need to. I’ll just find somewhere else,”

Azure seemed surprised at how quickly Tsubasa gave up the hall, and before Tsubasa could walk off in defeat, spoke up, “Don’t worry about that. I already get enough practice on my own. I’d hardly deprive someone of the chance to get work on their songs. What’s your name?” she asked. Tsubasa stuttered off her introduction, “T-Tsubasa Oribe, age 18, and uh… I’m an Idol, with Fortuna Entertainment. I usually practice lots of singing, dancing, and acting.”

Azure sized Tsubasa up. All that, at her age, was quite impressive in its own right. While Azura herself had always liked to sing in her spare time, she had never really made a career out of it, being a princess holed up in Hoshido as a pseudo-prisoner. Mikoto had always made sure she was accepted around the palace and adjacent town. But Azure never had really broken into full on performing. Tsubasa, to her, seemed like a bird still getting used to its full wings, not quite comfortable yet with where she was going.

Azura decided to take a new approach, “What was that song? It sounded a little lonely for just you.” she started. Tsubasa looked downtrodden, and replied “Yeah. It’s called ‘Give Me!’. It’s a duet, intended for me and my friend, Kiria. I’m not as used to singing with her, so I wanted to get some practice in. Thinking about it, I probably should’ve gotten her to come practice with me. She’s probably already at dinner now.”

Azura had an interesting thought, and decided to voice it. “Well, since we’re here, how about I fill in for her. I’m sure it’ll be something new for both of us to learn. Do you have a sheet for the song?” Tsubasa immediately perked up, excited at the idea of practicing with the songstress. She quickly agreed, “Thanks! Here, the song is here on my phone” and gestured to it in her hand. Azura was surprised at the device, probably being amazed at how small it was, for it to contain all the lyrics and notes, but moved closer to Tsubasa.

The two slowly reviewed the song together. Azura wasn’t quite used to such a bright, uplifting song with “Give Me!”, but quickly got the hang of the feel of the song with Tsubasa. For her own part, Tsubasa had been containing her excitement at showing the older songstress the kinda music Tsubasa herself was used too. It was strange, but nice, to share the kinds of things that would seem quite strange to people of other worlds, with someone she found some common ground with. Together, after some light reviewing, they decided to put it into practice.

Tsubasa decided to go all out, and put on the test sample of music they had to go with for practicing “Give Me!”. Azura seemed startled at the music quickly bursting out, but quickly got into the rhythm with Tsubasa. The two nodding their heads to the beat, began the duet together. Azura lead, taking Kiria’s part, and Tsubasa followed.

“Whenever I try to be honest with my feelings,  
I just can't get the words out  
When everyone calls me cool, all I think is  
No way! No way! Stuck with this doubt~

We're all carbon copies  
I'm a copy, too  
But when I look at you I see  
Something new, something different~

Give me! All your cuteness~  
Give me! All your coolness~

Give! Some way I can change  
I want stand out, I wanna shine

Give me! Even childishness~  
Give me! Even awkwardness~

Give me! Something I don't have  
I wanna stand out, and make it mine  
I want it now, so please just give it to me

Please just give it to me~

Please just give it to me~”

Together, they finished the basic part of the song that would be performed live. Tsubasa was amazed at herself, and at Azura especially. She was a great partner, easily keeping up with Tsubasa, with her own magical voice. Azura likewise was pleasantly surprised with Tsubas, and her own style of singing. Azure felt like she could really find lots of inspiration singing together with Tsubasa.

“That was great Tsubasa”, Azura lead with, “I think you could really nail this with your friend Kiria. It almost makes me jealous. I’m used to just singing in private, but with you, it seems like I could really make a new style of singing for myself..” Tsubasa felt flattered at the idea, and replied “We should definitely practice more! I have another song I gotta work on, but you and I work really well together! It makes me wanna get Kiria in here too. I don’t doubt she’d like to work with a great songstress like you!”

The two chatted away, thinking up ideas on what they could work on next, from trying the duet song Tsubasa shared with Ellie, “Dream Catcher '', to Tsubasa trying out the kinds of songs Azura herself was used too. They would probably keep themselves busy for a while. With thoughts of dinner long forgotten.

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To the far edge of the stage, stood a regal man in lightweight blue armor, with a unique ornate sword, and large golden shield. Atop his simple blue hair was a small tiara. He seemed to be taking in the two singers on the stage. He was far enough out of view that they didn’t notice him. Next to him, shimmered someone Tsubasa knew well. With long blue hair, clad in simple pink and white armor, with a large helmet that completely covered her eyes, stood Tsubasa’s partnered Mirage, Caeda.

The Mirage-Caeda passively watched her Master with the blue haired prince. Both were quiet as they took in her performance with the songstress. As they ended their song, and began chatting away, the blue haired man turned to Caeda. “You truly don’t recognize me? Caeda?”

Caeda turned away, almost ashamed, “I’m sorry. Your face, your appearance, it all strikes a chord within me. Your name is something I know I should know, but I don’t.” The blue haired man was put off by her words, but remained optimistic. “It’s alright Caeda. Even if you don’t remember me, I know it is not your fault. Besides, you seem to be happy where you are now. I wouldn’t dare ruin that by trying to force your memory.”

Caeda looked back to the man, trying to decide how to feel about his words. “You’re right… I may not remember the people that are close to me, but with Tsubasa’s positivity, I’ll be alright. I do want to get my memories back, but helping her, and her friends, comes first. I owe them that much.” She turned back to the pair of singers, watching as they began to leave the concert hall, continuing to chat away with ideas of their own.

The blue haired man decided to keep his offer open, “Well, if you ever change your mind Caeda, you know where to find me. I know the others would like to see you too. But I will not force you.” It was hard to put someone he was so close with at a distance, but given the circumstances, perhaps it would be better this way.

Caeda looked conflicted about the prospect, but ultimately kept her stance. “Maybe someday in the future, when Tsubasa doesn’t need my guidance. But thank you for the offer. If you need me, I’ll be with Tsubasa most of the time.” The blue haired man hardly seemed surprised at her answer, responding as he quietly left the theater, “Take care, Caeda.”

Caeda herself did not look back as he walked away, but regardless called back, “You as well….. Marth ....”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Incredibly sorry for the long update. I have a bad habit of putting things off and getting distracted by any random thing >_>. Honestly, despite Tsubasa being my favorite TMS character, this one stumped me for a while. I had the idea planned, but wasn't sure on the execution. I plan to have the next one out in a much shorter time frame. As before, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.


	3. Keeping the Cool Facade up with The Future

Kiria was getting frustrated, which was quite rare for her. She’d always taken challenges in stride, using whatever was thrown at her as just another stepping stool to grow. It benefited her a lot in her rise to stardom. It had even created the cool facade she kept up most of the time. Her cute loving tendencies had been buried away, to make way for Kiria, one of the best idols in the business, who always kept a level head, and never faltered. But her new challenge was one she couldn’t simply solve on her own.

Being in the Order of Heroes had been humbling to say the least. Without the need to worry about practicing and preparing for whatever bizarre events and ideas Maiko could throw at her, Kiria had the chance to let her little mask slip occasionally. It was always in small ways, like quietly letting her love of cute things show more often, especially around the team of Masters.

But inevitably, the team wouldn’t be able to comfortably relax and train so long as they were Heroes. When the 5 of them had finally been organized into teams, Kiria found herself the odd one out, and placed with a team of 3 Heroes that she hadn’t met before. Itsuki and the others consequently, all ended up as their own team of 4. Kiria had questioned the idea, but was told by the commander, a familiar looking woman named Anna, that team setups were usually made by how well the 4 would work together. She hadn’t understood the idea entirely, but accepted the setup.

That had been the day before, and since then, Kiria had introduced herself to the lords she seemed to be paired with. According to the 3, they all attended a school together, and were each house leaders, garbed in black with gold linings, with a colored cape denoting their house. 

The first, who had quickly introduced herself, was a girl a tad bit younger than Tsubasa, with long white hair, clad in red tights and a red cape, named Edelgard. She claimed to be a princess of an empire of some sorts. From what Kiria could tell, she seemed the most focused and confident of the 3, mostly exchanging ideas for the battle the 4 would be partaking in, She carried a simple axe to fight.

The second was a young man with a simple blue cape, who seemed to be holding himself together, as if he were being troubled by something. His name was Dimitri, and was a prince of a supposed holy kingdom. He rather quietly introduced himself to Kiria, but didn’t seem to pay her inclusion to the team much mind. With him he carried a simple lance.

The last of the 3 was a tanned young man, with dark brown hair, and a golden cape. His name was Claude, and seemed to be an heir to a noble house, part of some government alliance. He was definitely the most easy going of the 3, trying to prompt questions out of Kiria, about her career, and the world she came from. She tried to humor him, but the questions never seemed to end with him. He carried a standard bow with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.

Together the 4 of them would be sent out to the Tempest, a mysterious vortex of power that cropped up from time to time in Askr and worlds connected to it. Kiria herself hadn’t gotten the full explanation, but it apparently tended to cause chaos and summon random Heroes that only fight whatever they saw coming. It all sounded quite strange, but the basic plan Kiria had gotten, would be to venture forth into it with the 3 lordlings she’d been grouped with.

It’d be the first time Kiria saw live combat since joining the Order, and she took the spare time before they’d left preparing herself for whatever might be thrown at them. She and her Mirage, Tharja, had been practicing their magic throughout their time in the Order, seeing how much it had changed from the Idolaspheres the duo were used too. While the others had been limited in their ability to use magic in the Order, Kiria suffered almost no big change. If anything, she’d found herself being able to draw on her more powerful spells more often than normal. Tharja claimed it had something to do with the atmosphere, and magical energies that flowed all over Askr.

Regardless, Kiria had kept herself from throwing out too much, too quickly in training so as to not strain herself. She also hadn’t had much of a chance to test out the incredibly more powerful spells Tharja kept up her long sleeves for when things got tricky. Before she had left out for the tempest, Itsuki and Tsubasa stopped her to wish her luck, and had even gotten her a small snack in case things got too tiring. The two waved at her as she and the young lordlings set off from the Order’s castle. As they left, Kiria quickly had Tharja transform into her usual Mirage Rod, and Kiria’s usual Carnage ensemble took shape around her, eyepatch and all.

Once they had found the tempest, the 4 had quickly found resistance, with most of the warriors they found wearing simple armor and helmets obscuring their features, almost as if they were nameless mooks in from the shows Touma was into. They weren’t particularly strong, and the 4 had quickly dispatched them. Of note to Kiria though, was that Edelgard seemed to split off from the team during the midst of fighting. She couldn’t particularly tell why, and hadn’t yet had a chance to ask the princess about it.  
Regardless, the 4 made their way through the Tempest bit by bit, defeating any that came their way. Occasionally they spotted a summoned Hero, but none of them knew the various Heroes well enough to place most of them. In the end, they remained defeated and unknown to the team.

Whenever they had downtime, Kiria tried to check up on the 3 and how they were faring. She’d hesitantly decided to take up the leadership role when they’d been organized, being the oldest of the group, but often found herself thinking that the team wasn’t very cohesive. While the 3 house leaders knew each other well enough from the academy they attended before being summoned, in fights they each devolved into their own style of fighting rather than coordinating as a team.

Dimitri usually rushed in first, hitting the hardest foes first, and focused solely on his own fights. Edelgard was similar, but she split herself off from the team and took to foes on their flank without much regard for how the others were doing. Claude was the closest to a team player, but tended to do so by picking off stray targets that Dimitri or Edelgard missed, and avoided one on one combat altogether. Kiria herself tried to keep an eye on the 3 usually, while supporting whoever happened to be the closest to her with her magic.

When the team found themselves at the heart of the tempest, they were somewhat haggard from all the fighting. Dimitri had been injured in the midst of the fighting earlier, but seemed to not be held back by it. Claude had been running low on arrows, and admitted he wasn’t sure how helpful he’d be once he was all out. Edelgard seemed to be doing the best of them, seeming rather exhilarated at how far they’d made it. It honestly surprised Kiria, and made her wonder if she had some sort of unique ability that kept her in good shape.

All throughout the journey, Kiria herself had kept up her facade, maintaining her composure, and rarely speaking out, usually only to bring something to their attention. She had started wondering how well their teamwork would fare against whatever was waiting for them up ahead. After confirming that the other 3 were ready, they headed inside. What awaited them felt very familiar to Kiria. The inside took on the appearance of a certain Idolasphere Kiria and her friends had traversed to save Maiko. In the distance the skyline of Shibuya could be seen, but Kiria had her doubts that they’d actually returned to Tokyo.

Up ahead she saw a small group of summoned Heroes, along with a certain someone leading their team all the way in the farthest corner of the Idolasphere. It was something she’d entertained thoughts about, but dreaded actually finding in battle. It was the face she always saw in the mirror, Kiria Kurono, in full Carnage Form, ready to end their little venture into the tempest.

From a distance, the biggest difference that Kiria could see between her copy and herself, was that the copy didn’t have Tharja’s Mirage Rod, and instead wielded a dark purple book she’d seen other Heroes use, called tomes. Kiria began to wonder to herself if this copy-Kiria had Tharja with her.  
Before they could even form a plan, the group of Heroes descended on the team. Dimitri and Edelgard quickly took in the brunt of attacks from a mounted swordsman, and flying pegasus knight respectively. Claude took some steps back, trying to gauge the situation. Kiria herself wasted no time and lent her aid to Dimitri, since he seemed to start struggling with his previous wound.

By the time she and Dimitri were done, Kiria saw the pegasus knight lay defeated with a clean arrow wound through their chest. In its wake, a heavily armored knight was booming towards them. Behind him, Kiria spotted Edelgard rushing to the back towards her copy, aiming to nail a quick victory. Rather abruptly though, Kiria saw that reinforcements had been summoned, quickly putting Edelgard in a trap.

She quickly made her move, dashing past the armored knight before he had a chance to even react, and made her way to Edelgard. The girl herself was handling herself well for being surrounded, quickly evading the strikes from the summoned swordsman that ambushed her. Behind them, Kiria saw her copy holding her tome up, ready to fire away something.

“No time…” she quickly thought to herself, and once she was near Edelgard, shoved the princess out of the direction of Kiria’s copy. All at once, a barrage of red magical blades struck Kiria. She felt them pierce her, but only a few had drawn blood somehow. She hadn’t the time to question it, and quickly delved into Tharja’s reserve of power that she’d been saving for a good opportunity. Tharja spoke in her mind, “Now’s the perfect time to use it. Hehehe…. Time to show her why you’re Kiria, huh dear?”

Kiria agreed, and lifted Tharja’s rod up, letting it reform back into Tharja’s full Mirage form. Floating above her, Tharja began to conjure magical circles, and the temperature quickly dropped to ice cold around her. Kiria felt the well of power flowing to Tharja, and decided to give it an extra burst. All at once, Kiria let her voice out, and started singing.

“Accept me please, someone, for who I really am  
Maybe that's the only thing I wanted all along  
And now, finally I can begin to realize  
Because I just want to share that smile I see in their eyes  
Nothing else ....”

As she sung her song, The Labyrinth, a vortex of wind and ice surrounded the copy-Kiria and her reinforcements. It churned with Tharja’s own blast of ice, freezing them solid. At the final note, it shattered in a bright light. Kiria’s foes crumpled in defeat, but she herself could feel a similar feeling falling over her. She’d probably pushed it too far.

She slowly fell back, and in her head, she quietly heard Tharja mumble, “Idiot, my power was more than enough…”. She might have heard someone yell out her name, but it was lost to her, as she passed out under the lack of energy.

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When she came too, she was in a simple white bed, in what must have been the Order’s infirmary. Kiria had never visited it herself, yet it seemed now she was the newest patient to be recovering. As she pushed away the drowsiness, and tried stretching herself out, she felt pain in her midsection.

“I’d suggest against that.” To her left, sat the very princess she saved, Edelgard. The princess continued, explaining, “You passed out after that huge attack, and Dimitri and I had to quickly bring you back. You quelled the tempest with that… power of yours. I’m astonished. How exactly did you do that?” Right down to business then. In response, Tharja finally appeared before the princess to Kiria’s right.

“It’s Kiria’s performa. Her own little creativity fueled my magic, and let us squash those little bugs.” Tharja rattled off as if it were nothing. Edelgard was taken aback by her appearance, and she could introduce herself, Tharja interrupted. “My name’s Tharja. I’ve heard about another version of myself in the Order. Whatever you know about her, don’t think it applies to me. I’m Kiria’s partner. No more, no less.” She turned to face Kiria, “Next time, just let me handle it dear. And we won’t have you stuck here healing up”

With her piece said, Tharja faded away, back to wherever she liked to watch Kiria from. Kiria clicked her tongue, mildly annoyed with Tharja’s style of just appearing then leaving in a flash. In all the time she knew Tharja, she’d always been like that. Always keeping to herself, only appearing when necessary, and planning little surprises on her own.

Kiria decided to try to defuse the situation with Edelgard, “Don’t mind her, Tharja’s always been slow to warm up to people. But she’s a great partner for me.” Edelgard let it be, and quickly summed Kiria up on what had happened in the aftermath of the battle, “Dimitri and Claude are fine. Dimitri’s gotten his wound already healed. Your attack really saved us. Me especially. Thank you.” She seemed rather embarrassed all things considered.

“It’s fine,” Kiria replied, “I noticed during our fights you tended to run off, so when I saw those reinforcements, I wanted to make sure you were alright.” Edelgard looked solemn at that, replying, “That’s why I wanted to apologize as well. I know I have a tendency to push others away. Even my classmates. In battle that shows.”

Kiria couldn’t particularly understand it, and voiced her thoughts, “If you’re gonna be a real leader for your class, you have to learn to work as a team. You know? I do it a lot with Itsuki and my other friends. We talk, discuss ideas for battle, and try to synchronize with each other. It lets us bring each other to even greater heights. I’m sure the same would be true for you and your classmates.”

Edelgard looked down at that. It seemed as though that wasn’t just it. “I understand that. My teacher, Byleth, has been trying to drill that in me. I’m so used to having to fight for myself. It’s hard adjusting to others, even new friends. Especially when…” She stopped herself. Kiria thought about it some to herself. Maybe it was that she wouldn’t be able to keep it up, or that she wouldn't always have people supporting her? She decided to take a gamble on it.

“Don’t worry too much about the what ifs. If your friends are true of heart, and you let them in, they’ll only benefit you. I can tell you have a lot on your mind. But sharing your thoughts and ideas can only help. If they’re really your friends, they’ll trust you, and stand with you.”

She could tell the words had an effect on the downtrodden princess. She looked lost in contemplation over the words. It was then that their quite discussion got timely interrupted, by Kiria’s friends entering. Itsuki was holding a cake, with the words “Get Well Soon!” written on it. Kiria seriously wondered where they’d gotten that. Tsubasa, Ellie, and Mamori each were smiling, glad that Kiria was awake.

Edelgard quickly stood up once they entered, seemingly uncomfortable around her friends. Kiria quickly introduced them to her before she got a chance to slip away. “Hey guys. Edelgard, these are my friends Itsuki, Tsubasa, Ellie, and Mamori.” The princess quickly introduced herself to them. “Sorry if I’m intruding. I did wanna give you this before I left.” And she brought out a small insignia, like the one she herself wore. It was striped red, with the top fitted with an image of an eagle.

She handed to Kiria, claiming “I hope we get a chance to work together again. Thank you for the words. I’ll see you again '' and quickly excused herself, waving at Kiria’s friends as she left. Kiria held the small charm, deciding it was cute enough that she'd probably pin it on her usual casual clothes soon. Just as soon as she got out of the infirmary.  
Kiria quickly found her attention caught up retelling the whole trip to Itsuki and the others. She also began filing away an idea. As soon as she was out of this bed, she’d be requesting to the commander that she and the 3 young lords be teamed up again. She had a feeling they’d be needing more than a couple excursions before they’d become a cohesive team. With her little idea forming, she spent the rest of the day trying to relax and let her wounds heal, entertaining Itsuki’s crazy food-critic esque description of the cake they’d brought her.

She definitely had more to look forward to around the Order now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again very sorry for the long update. This one was one I had been looking forward to for a while. Having only played Crimson Flower in 3H so far, and researched the other routes a decent bit, I really think Edelgard might be one of my favorites in terms of FE characters. Nailing her felt like a good challenge to climb. Anyway, as always, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I'm a long time TMS#FE fan. Encore's release, and addition to FEH has motivated me enough to get creative and finally make a fic. I'm not ashamed to say this was incredibly self indulgent. Expect slow updates for the future chapters. I have ideas in the works, but my schedule doesn't give me a whole lot of time to get writing done. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for Reading. (Updated to fix formatting)


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